


Stories of the Second Self: The Greatest Step

by John_Steiner



Series: Alter Idem [102]
Category: Urban Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:20:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22613185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner
Summary: Getting wind over a repaired radio, Jack Dumont realizes that a new civil order has returned, and that as a giant he need not live in the wilds any longer. Coming to Cincinnati, Jack realizes his oil industry background and general resourcefulness offer him a career opportunity as a biofuels producer. Though, the real turn around in Jack's life was Cheryl. Forging new lives together, Jack finds Cheryl complaining of pelvic pains on their first anniversary. A new turn of fortunes was coming to Jack and Cheryl.
Series: Alter Idem [102]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813





	Stories of the Second Self: The Greatest Step

There was a quote I read from Bryant McGill, 'Sometimes you have to lose everything to find the one thing that matters.'

It was a religiously theme book about sobriety, and while I wasn't a hard drinker, I saw his point in a new way. For over a year I'd been living on my own in hills and mountains until either human purists found me, or I had taxed the local game too far. When you're my size you made a huge impression even in big country.

However, having salvaged a radio, I learned that by degrees, per city, and by state, civil order was being restored. The nearest placed I'd heard was brought under control was Cincinnati, Ohio. I hadn't trusted it right away, so stayed out for a few months more. When regular radio programming and even talk radio came back, I learned there was even an entire part of the city where people like me lived and it was peaceful.

Not familiar with Cincinnati, I nonetheless took the chance and came in out of the social cold. National Guard units were still demobilizing from the city when I just wandered in as if from a wrong turn. Almost no one seemed to make anything of the fact I was in buckskins with a huge scrap metal knife on my hip.

There were three soldiers who eyed me differently from the rest, and I could tell from their hair growth pattern they were werewolves. Though, they went with their business as did I. I checked in with authorities and explaining myself, more or less. The part about having to kill a bunch of human purists with explosives seemed to have slipped my mind, conveniently. 'Don't ask, don't tell,' took on a new meaning.

During their examination of me is when I learned that my full height was fourteen foot, one inch. I was able to establish residency in this place called Saint Bernard.

Having no money, no job, and likely crap credit after all that time wasn't a big deal it turned out. I had education, I had skills, and I was eager to take whatever odd jobs anyone was doling out. Eventually, it occurred to me that there was no active oil or natural gas industry. Everyone everywhere was living off reserves that were rolled in under armed escort, as much of the country was still a mess.

Then it hit me, I used work in the petroleum sector. There was no reason I couldn't put that to use now. Granted, I couldn't run an oil drilling rig myself, even at my size, but there was a lot of garbage out there, and some other entrepreneur kicked off a vertical farm company in abandoned buildings. So, I started my own biofuel company using a federal loan.

Yet, none of that was finding what I'm talking about.

I met her.

A giant like myself, and somehow my idea of beauty grew as I had. Her orange-red hair had that Shirley Temple kind of curl, and grown down to her shoulders, which is impressive for giants. Small eyes and ears in proportion to her broad face, just like me and every other giant, but way they glittered when she first noticed me!

She was a warehouse manager, and I ran across her while inspecting machinery I was interested in buying. It tickled her to find I was shy about broaching the question of a date, and she did that thing of swiping her finger down my nose when saying yes.

We hit it off, moved in together a few months later-- really, built our house together, since she had degrees in architecture and engineering. Half of our home included rooms exposed to the outside, since we handle cold better than most of the little people. The rest didn't require any heating, because Cheryl was just that good on insulation and, again, big people hold heat in easier.

Our first anniversary of being together was coming up, when she stopped in the living room complaining of pelvic pains.

Unsure what to do, I called 911 on my laptop and, without thinking, held it to my ear like a phone. "My girlfriend is having some sort of pains... I'm in Saint Bernard, and I don't have a car... yeah, that's right, we're giants... Really? They have ambulances for us? Yes, okay."

I tell the operator my address and followed his instructions about having Cheryl lie down and keep her calm. What stopped out in front of our house was a refitted rescue truck used by the fire department. They'd altered it to handle one giant patient, but I had to help Cheryl on. A flatbed truck appeared a few minutes after for me to ride down to whatever hospital could manage Cheryl as a patient.

Even over the wind during the ride, I could hear Cheryl crying out with each wave of pain, and was getting anxious. "Come on. Let's go!"

All the way downtown, both trucks drew stares, though not so many as I would've thought. That's how different the world became. The hospital had a special detached wing fashioned in a cross between a warehouse and small stadium. Very few of the medical staff were giants, and it was those giants who handled most of the work in this special wing.

Two of them wheeled Cheryl off to an emergency room, and a Fae doctor sat me down to fill forms for Cheryl's patient admission. "I'm Dr. Ariel Golshiri, Mr...."

"Jack Dumont," I said and, carefully shook her tiny hand.

Dr. Golshiri tilted her antlered head at my name, but smirked, so I figure she just enjoyed the irony of my first name and the poetic connection of my last. "Okay, I know these will be hard to fill in for you, so I'll handle that. We're going to start with medical history and any allergies you can tell me about."

I honestly knew next to nothing, and fretted that she might have some dangerous allergy or condition that doctors wouldn't find out until too late. However, I hadn't seen anything and Cheryl never mentioned it, despite or many long talks on late nights together.

Then Dr. Golshiri walked off down the high-ceiling hall in the general direction the emergency room. That left me alone with my fear for the first woman to come into my life after everything was turned upside down. Absently, I tugged and twirled at my beard, realizing that I hadn't shaved or even trimmed it in over two years.

In less than an hour Dr. Golshiri was back. "You're sitting. Good. I have some incredible news for you, Mr. Dumont."

"Is she okay?" I ask hastily. "Do you know what's wrong with her?"

"Wrong?" Dr. Golshiri echoed, smiling at me, and then shook her head. "Nothing is wrong. She's in labor. You're going to be a father."

"What?" I asked, having heard every word and replayed them in my head. "How's that possible?"

"The same old fashioned way it's always been," Dr. Golshiri joked, and waved her hand to me. "This isn't my first time seeing an expecting giant. I don't specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, but I've performed two other deliveries for giants. From what I've seen, going a full term with a child and not realizing it isn't unusual for your people."

"Really?" I wondered, and look off toward the room Cheryl is in. "Can I be with her?"

"We're prepping her now," Dr. Cheryl said, "and I just came out here to see if you wanted to be on hand for her delivery."

"Yes," I blurt out, "Very much, yes."

She led me down the hall and into the room where Cheryl was already laying on a platform repurposed as a patient bed. The stirrups her feet were in looked like someone modded tow truck assemblies, but they did appear surgical clean and chromed, so I figured it was safe from infection.

I came around to Cheryl's side and took her hand, but she gave me a desperate expression. "I don't want to have a baby."

"Hey, it's okay," I sooth to her and pat her hand. "I wasn't expecting this either. The doctor tells me it's going to be alright."

"No," Cheryl pleads, "What if something's wrong with it? What if it's hurt coming out? Maybe my hormones put it at risk for cancer, or something?"

She had a point. When I first came to this city, federal authorities filled me in a little with what since became known among giants since I fled my home state. In one sense, every tissue of our bodies were borderline tumors, just not reproducing out of control like a cancer normally would. I'd seen kids of giant couples around St. Bernard, but they had formerly been human too.

The experts- if anyone could call themselves that, still had just guesses why anyone turned into one of five Pentacastes, but giants all had the commonality of higher than usual aptitudes. I guessed if both parents were geniuses, why not their kids also?

"Ms. Benning," Dr. Golshiri said, coming back into the room and indicated the giant nurses, "These two people here are going to help me out, and I'll guide you through this. So far, everything is okay, and from what I can see in sonograms your baby is doing just fine."

Another lucky break for giants was labor. Cheryl expected life-racking pain, but the truth is that her labor was mild. My ex-wife likewise didn't have difficulty in any of our children, but the doctor told me that the early medical literature so far indicated no giant mother had severe labor pains and no complications.

When it was over Dr. Golshiri walked up a platform on the side of the bed for normal sized staffer access to patients, and show what surprised myself and Cheryl alike.

"At a guess, I'd say she's nine pounds, and maybe six to eight ounces," Dr. Golshiri estimated.

Cheryl accepted our baby girl into her cupped hands. "Oh-hh my god! She's so tiny! No wonder I wasn't showing."

"Pretty much all giant babies are normal sized at birth," Dr. Golshiri explained to us, "A little on the heavy side by human standards, but your girl is just right. Congratulations."

"Thank you doctor," I said, accepting her hand to show my appreciation without squeezing too hard.

"Thank you," Cheryl also said, and brought our girl close to her breasts.

Eyeing the little miracle that entered our lives, it got me to wondering about Giant Growth Hormone. It was in breast milk, so Dr. Golshiri revealed, as we sat together listening to her. Cheryl was able to check out of the hospital that day, though they need our baby to stay overnight to be doubly sure there were no complications.

That night, Cheryl and I poured over baby names, and I also went through a number of books and pamphlets that the hospital checked out to me for my edification.

It turned out that a lot of information was gleaned from births of three other Pentacastes. Fae children didn't have antlers at birth, which must've been a relief for their mothers. Their hooves, which came out first, were soft as their skin.

Werewolves only had one baby at a time, but were as small as premature human babies after only six months pregnancy. Otherwise they looked exactly like human kids, but for their eyes being shut for weeks.

Angel babies caught most of my attention, just because in the photo there lay a newborn with an extra set of arms looking for all the world like wings on a thanksgiving turkey.

Vampires were the only people for who pregnancy was impossible, both from a womb no warmer than the surroundings, and because they had no DNA to pass on. Given what the government and regular people learned about vampire disposition, I wondered if that weren't for the best.

"What about Valerie or Bree?" Cheryl asked me, drawing my nose out of the books.

"I like Bree, but Valerie is alright also," I said, perfectly accepting of whatever she wanted. "What made you chose those?"

"These meanings on here,"Cheryl revealed and passed over the laptop from her palm to mine.

Going over the meanings, I tilt my head in consideration. "How about Bree Valerie Dumont?"

It took Cheryl a moment to register what I really meant, and then she pressed both her hands to her face as her eyes welled up.

Enthusiastically, she nodded as her face reddened, when she leaned over and swiped her finger down my nose. "Yes, I'll marry you!"

She cried with joy on my shoulder, and I held her close all night.


End file.
